Fleetwood Town midfielder Dan Batty spoke to ahead of Town’s Sky Bet League One fixture away at Lincoln City.
Batty – who has featured in every league match so far this season – sat down with the media at Poolfoot Farm to talk about this weekend’s match in Lincolnshire.
The 24-year-old scored the opening goal the last time the two sides met, with Lewis Fiorini bagging a second-half equaliser to ensure the Imps took a point home on the road.
Here’s what Batty had to say:
On the match this weekend…
“We’ve had a good start to the season; we’ve started off strong and to have played in every game so far – which I hope to continue that – and scored a few goals and that’s something I want to keep pushing in terms of scoring goals.
“This league is very tight - all the teams we’ve played against so far have been competitive. Both have been tough but both teams have had to dig deep, and sometimes in these matches you need some luck to win, whether it’s a lucky bounce of the ball or something, then results could flip but we have been solid and strong, kept clean sheets and it’s about continuing that and nicking the goals down the other end.
“We go to Lincoln knowing that we have a great opportunity of winning the game. They’ve had a similar start to us so we won’t be going there to let them have all the joy, we are going there to compete and win.”
On the young lads coming through the ranks…
“The lads did brilliantly in midweek against Everton from start to finish. They worked hard and ultimately that gives the whole group a confidence boost knowing that we can compete against a side of Everton’s quality.
“I thought we played our own game very well, and it was really good to see the young lads step up and get some game time under their belts. The adrenaline that goes through your body is amazing and you do raise your game for the occasion and lift standards to impress, but you do dig deeper as a young player.
“It’s great to see so many people come through the academy. They are getting good coaching along the way and they’re thriving off it and it’s good to see some lads get some well-deserved minutes on the pitch.
“You only get better. Like anything, you need to be thrown into the deep end at some point and it’s about you taking your opportunity. You then have to take it and a lot of those lads have done that and just like myself back in the day. It’s nice to see them doing what I did, but it’s about grasping it and also enjoying it.”
On the difference in playing styles to last season…
“The gaffer [Scott Brown] has brought some good players in, they’ve made us more solid and it’s an area that we don’t want teams to get at us, especially down the middle so he’s made us compact and that’s been seen with the clean sheets we’ve been keeping.
“Once you stop the ball going into your own net, it’s then thinking about going forward. He has given us lot of new ideas going forward so if we as a group can put what he’s been getting across in training into a matchday, then we will hopefully see ourselves of a few more wins.
“Last season was an up and down season for us, but we are a lot stronger. The group is on the same page, and we are all ready to give this a good go. The quality and standard is there to be seen and we are all showing confidence and that’s needed to win games.”
WATCH DAN BATTY AND HIS TEAMMATES IN ACTION AT LINCOLN
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